Iran fires foreign minister, appoints top nuclear chief
December 13th, 2010 - 9:07 pm ICT by BNO NewsTEHRAN (BNO NEWS) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday fired the country’s foreign minister and appointed his top nuclear official as caretaker for the position, his office said.
The presidential office said that Ahmadinejad had sent Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki a letter in which he thanked him for his five years of service and prayed for his success. No reason for the sudden change was given.
In a separate letter, Ahmadinejad appointed Vice President and head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi as caretaker of the foreign ministry.
And although no reason was immediately given, Iranian lawmakers have been urging Ahmadinejad to replace Mottaki as they felt he was not good enough to represent Iran on the international stage. This mainly concerned the country’s nuclear weapons program, which Iran claims is peaceful.
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